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Eagle view : a monthly newsletter from the Office of Institutional Advancement

Eagle view : a monthly newsletter from the Office of Institutional Advancement

A Monthly Newsletter from the Office of Institutional Advancement
Eagle View december 2011
Happy Holidays!
James E. Shepard Memorial Library
circa 1950s
NCCU Awards 608 Degrees at December Commencement
John Silvanus Wilson Jr., Speaker
North Carolina Central University awarded 608 bachelor’s,
master’s and law degrees on Saturday, Dec. 10, in a ceremony
at McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium.
In a stirring, revival-style commencement address, federal
education leader John Silvanus Wilson Jr. urged the graduates
to harness courage and vision to overcome fear. “There is fear
and courage inside all of us,” he said. “Most of us focus on the
obstacles in front of us and we operate out of fear. We need to
focus on the goals and operate out of courage.”
Wilson is the executive director of the White House Initiative
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an
office set up within the Department of Education in the 1970s
to strengthen the nation’s 105 HBCUs and serve as a liaison
between them and the federal government.
Wilson is a former professor at George Washington University
and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, but he also was trained as
a preacher and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of
preachers as well. That part of his heritage was on full display
as he recounted a life-changing event from his teens.
The back yard of his home in a Philadelphia suburb contained
a swimming pool and was enclosed by a four-foot chain-link
fence, he recalled. Try as he might, when he needed to retrieve
a ball that went over the fence, he was never able to hop the
fence in a single, swift move the way some neighborhood
friends could, he said. It became an obstacle that nagged at
him.
One day a visiting child fell into the deep end of the pool and
began to struggle and sink. Wilson was outside the fence when
he heard the cries of alarm. He leaped the fence, plunged in
and saved the child from drowning.
“To this day,” he said, “I don’t remember exerting the slightest
bit of energy getting over that fence. I was over in half a
second. I know that science says it was adrenaline, but I
wondered then and I often wonder now, ‘How can I be in touch
with the power that got me over the fence, all the time?’
“Earlier, when I would go after that ball, I focused on the fence
and I was driven by doubt and fear,” he said. “But when I had
to get to that pool, I focused on the drowning boy, and I was
driven by confidence and courage.
“Graduates, there will be a lot of fences in your future,” he
said. “But you need to have a ‘what fence?’ mentality, a ‘what
fence?’ psychology, a ‘what fence?’ theology. Do not focus on
the fences in life. Focus on what is on the other side of those
fences. That’s where life is! That’s where love is! That’s where
destiny is!”
NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms joined Wilson in
congratulating the graduates and, as has become his custom,
he publicly recognized a few for their success in overcoming
obstacles.
He praised Nina Banks, who received a law degree. Banks
persisted in the face of health and financial problems in
her family that forced her to interrupt her undergraduate
education twice. And after a successful first year at NCCU’s
School of Law, she had to have heart surgery. She didn’t quit,
though, and now she has been accepted into the Army’s Judge
Advocate General training program.
Nelms also recognized Landis Strickland, who received
his Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Strickland
escaped his difficult family circumstances and tough Durham
neighborhood by joining the Navy. He served six years, got
2
married and settled into a civilian job in New Orleans — until
Hurricane Katrina destroyed their uninsured home. He and his
wife and their young daughter bounced through hotel and
guest rooms in three states before returning to Durham. He
entered Durham Technical Community College, transferred to
NCCU and graduated magna cum laude.
And Nelms also praised John Archer, who was just out of
college and in robust health at age 23 when his heart suddenly
stopped — he was dead. Paramedics were able to quickly
revive him, and a defibrillator in his chest now ensures that
it won’t happen again. He started law school but had to quit
when his marriage failed and he took custody of his newborn
son. Two years ago, he enrolled at NCCU’s School of Business,
and on Saturday — 11 years after the heart attack that nearly
ended his life — he graduated cum laude with a Master of
Business Administration degree.
Following NCCU tradition, Nelms hosted a reception for
graduates and their families on Friday night. Separate
receptions by campus colleges and departments took place
after the commencement ceremony.
NCCU Students Show How
Much They ‘CAARE’
Tiffany Gary, a sophomore on the women’s basketball team,
smiled wide and stood on her tiptoes to hang an ornament
near the top of the Christmas tree in the lobby of the CAARE
Inc. center in downtown Durham.
With her long arms and graceful agility, it was easy for her to
work high while fellow students decorated the lower part of
the tree, sharing laughs as they untangled a mass of string
lights.
It was a familiar and joyous sight around the holidays, but this
one had a special twist. Gary was among nearly 20 volunteers
from North Carolina Central University’s Athletics Department
who arrived at the nonprofit center Tuesday to decorate, pack
meals, prepare care packages and help make the day brighter
for those struggling in dark economic times.
Within an hour of the volunteers’ arrival, the lobby crowded
with people invited to receive a free turkey and trimmings,
along with some personal care items.
“It makes me feel better as a person knowing that I am giving
back to my community,” said Gary, who was joined by nursing
sophomore JaNise Rhodes, psychology freshman Kaylah
Blount and nursing junior Torya Smith.
CAARE is a grass roots operation that provides a variety of
health and social services to low-wealth residents in the
Class of 2011 Graduates
Tiffany Gary hangs an ornament at CAARE Inc.
3
Durham area. The organization began in 1995 with kitchen-table
conversation between Dr. Sharon Elliott-Bynum, an NCCU
alumna, and her sister, the late Patricia Amaechi. Yearning for
a way to give back to the community, the socially conscious
sisters started the nonprofit primarily to help with AIDS and
addiction management.
In the last 16 years, CAARE has grown to become a major
health and social service agency with an annual budget of
nearly $1 million dollars, including support from government
and private sources. Although Amaechi passed away, her
presence remains in the mural on the wall and in the heart of
her sister.
“Here, we emphasize that there is no delineation between
‘them’ and ‘us,’ so a lot of the clients that we help come back
to help others,” Elliott-Bynum said as she stood smiling
underneath the mural. “That’s how we’re going to make our
community a healthier community — it’s all of us doing our
part.”
A few years ago, Elliott-Bynum met NCCU Athletic Director
Ingrid Wicker-McCree and head women’s basketball coach
Joli Robinson. Together, the women formed Top Ladies of
Distinction, a service organization targeting young women.
That connection led to the department’s relationship with
CAARE. It’s a place where service learning comes alive for
students, Robinson said.
“Young people haven’t always experienced things, and you
can’t understand until you’ve experienced it,” Robinson said.
Volunteering helps students appreciate what they have and
break down barriers, she said.
“Some (clients) are here by choice, most are not,” Robinson
said. “Being here shows the students that you should always
treat people with respect, regardless.”
CAARE staffers used Veteran’s Day to focus on their project to
build a 15-bed shelter for homeless veterans. On Nov. 11, the
NCCU women’s basketball team joined with students from
Duke University for a day of service that included a sleepover
in an empty room at the center.
“We wanted them to feel what it was like to wake up with no
resources, to have nothing,” Elliott-Bynum said.
Gary remembers the night well, and she remembers the talk
the next morning from a homeless man who described his life
to the students.
“It was a good experience. It really opened our eyes,” she said.
“I’ve learned you don’t have to be a millionaire or have a lot
of money to show people that you care. It puts a smile on my
face just being here.”
And with that megawatt smile, Gary went right back to
trimming the tree.
NCCU Law Hosted EPA
Administrator and Business
Leaders
Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, chaired a roundtable discussion with
about 30 business and government leaders at the North
Carolina Central University School of Law. The White House
Business Council and Business Forward NC, a trade group
formed to encourage participation by business leaders in the
policymaking process, organized the gathering.
“I truly believe and will always believe that the environment is
a nonpartisan issue,” said Jackson as she opened the session
Students work to stock canned goods at CAARE Inc.
4
with remarks about the collaborative nature of President
Obama’s administration. She continued to state that the EPA’s
tightening of pollution standards easily contributes more
benefit than cost, saving lives and mitigating “hundreds of
billions of dollars” in healthcare expenses and productivity
losses. She added, “Americans actually like the idea that they’re
protected by the EPA.”
She predicted that clean energy would become a $4 trillion-dollar
industry and challenged those present to develop the
innovations that would create those jobs.
Three businessmen brought challenges of their own related
to EPA regulation and support for their environmentally
conscious operations.
John Gaither, president and CEO of Reichhold Inc., raised
a concern with the U.S. Health Department’s recent listing
of styrene as a carcinogen. Gaither stated that “75 years of
research shows it’s not a carcinogen” and he wondered aloud
about the risks of replacing it with some other chemical in the
manufacture of his company’s polyester resins about which
scientists have much less knowledge.
Andy Marchiano, president of Longistics, a logistics and
trucking company, asked how the EPA might support his
fuel-efficient operation by either incentivizing environmental
protection or penalizing competitors that forgo the expensive
fuel efficiency upgrades. Greg Merritt, vice president of
Cree, an innovator in LED lighting, pressed Jackson about
how the EPA intended to ensure the adoption of the new
lighting efficiency standards to be enacted Jan. 1. Merritt
suggested “incentivizing the market to adopt energy efficient
technologies through tax policy or credits.”
NCCU Law School Dean Raymond Pierce was enthusiastic
about the benefits of roundtable meetings such as this, the
second to be held at the Law School this year.
“I think it’s invaluable for the White House, through its Cabinet-level
representatives, to seek out the concerns but also the
ideas of our top business leaders in formulating policy,” said
Pierce. “These men and women are making the decisions that
will determine job growth in this state and those decisions can
be influenced, one way or the other, by public policy.”
Photography Exhibit
Highlights African-
American Resistance
A stunning collection of photographic portraits, “Let Your
Motto be Resistance: African-American Portraits,” will run at
the North Carolina Central University Art until Jan. 15, 2012.
The collection reveals the nation’s history through an African-
American lens, using the lives of well-known abolitionists,
artists, scientists, writers, statesmen, entertainers and sports
figures. The exhibit will run until Jan. 15, 2012.
Among the featured photographers who employ a variety of
strategies to create their powerful images are Mathew Brady,
James VanDerZee, Doris Ulmann, Edward Weston, Gordon
Parks, Irving Penn and Carl Van Vechten.
The exhibit’s title was taken from a celebrated abolitionist
and orator Henry Highland Garnet. In the speech titled “Call
to Rebellion,” Garnet challenges the American slaves to rise
up and emancipate themselves, arguing that armed unrest
would be the most effective way to end slavery. “Let your
motto be resistance,” he exclaimed, “Resistance! Resistance!
No oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without
resistance.”
“The need to resist, to challenge race-based assumptions,
laws and practices that sought to limit black life, has always
Malcolm X
5
been a central tenet of African-American culture,” said Kenneth
Rodgers, director of the NCCU Museum of Art. “This resistance
has many faces. While some African-Americans demanded
change at any cost, others chose nonviolent confrontations.”
For general information or assistance, call 919-560-6211.
Put the Love Back in Your
Holiday Giving
Often paired with this time of year are hopes to surprise our
loved ones with special gifts that mean a lot to them...but that
is not always so easy. Check out this gift idea that is sure to
please everyone.
(Pictured: Left to Right)Abdul Mohammed, Dean, College of
Science and Technology; Gail Hollowell, Assistant Professor,
Department of Biology; Emilie Townes (daughter of Dr. Mary
M. Townes) Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Andrew W.
Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at
Yale Divinity School; Lois Deloatch, Vice Chancellor, Office of
Institutional Advancement.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE >>
Martin Luther King Jr. with Coretta Scott King, Yolanda Denise
Featured Photo Dr. Townes visited the campus and toured the building named
for her mother, Dr. Mary M. Townes, former dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences and a longtime professor of biology. The
$36 million science building was named for Townes in 2005.
6

A Monthly Newsletter from the Office of Institutional Advancement
Eagle View december 2011
Happy Holidays!
James E. Shepard Memorial Library
circa 1950s
NCCU Awards 608 Degrees at December Commencement
John Silvanus Wilson Jr., Speaker
North Carolina Central University awarded 608 bachelor’s,
master’s and law degrees on Saturday, Dec. 10, in a ceremony
at McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium.
In a stirring, revival-style commencement address, federal
education leader John Silvanus Wilson Jr. urged the graduates
to harness courage and vision to overcome fear. “There is fear
and courage inside all of us,” he said. “Most of us focus on the
obstacles in front of us and we operate out of fear. We need to
focus on the goals and operate out of courage.”
Wilson is the executive director of the White House Initiative
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an
office set up within the Department of Education in the 1970s
to strengthen the nation’s 105 HBCUs and serve as a liaison
between them and the federal government.
Wilson is a former professor at George Washington University
and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, but he also was trained as
a preacher and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of
preachers as well. That part of his heritage was on full display
as he recounted a life-changing event from his teens.
The back yard of his home in a Philadelphia suburb contained
a swimming pool and was enclosed by a four-foot chain-link
fence, he recalled. Try as he might, when he needed to retrieve
a ball that went over the fence, he was never able to hop the
fence in a single, swift move the way some neighborhood
friends could, he said. It became an obstacle that nagged at
him.
One day a visiting child fell into the deep end of the pool and
began to struggle and sink. Wilson was outside the fence when
he heard the cries of alarm. He leaped the fence, plunged in
and saved the child from drowning.
“To this day,” he said, “I don’t remember exerting the slightest
bit of energy getting over that fence. I was over in half a
second. I know that science says it was adrenaline, but I
wondered then and I often wonder now, ‘How can I be in touch
with the power that got me over the fence, all the time?’
“Earlier, when I would go after that ball, I focused on the fence
and I was driven by doubt and fear,” he said. “But when I had
to get to that pool, I focused on the drowning boy, and I was
driven by confidence and courage.
“Graduates, there will be a lot of fences in your future,” he
said. “But you need to have a ‘what fence?’ mentality, a ‘what
fence?’ psychology, a ‘what fence?’ theology. Do not focus on
the fences in life. Focus on what is on the other side of those
fences. That’s where life is! That’s where love is! That’s where
destiny is!”
NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms joined Wilson in
congratulating the graduates and, as has become his custom,
he publicly recognized a few for their success in overcoming
obstacles.
He praised Nina Banks, who received a law degree. Banks
persisted in the face of health and financial problems in
her family that forced her to interrupt her undergraduate
education twice. And after a successful first year at NCCU’s
School of Law, she had to have heart surgery. She didn’t quit,
though, and now she has been accepted into the Army’s Judge
Advocate General training program.
Nelms also recognized Landis Strickland, who received
his Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Strickland
escaped his difficult family circumstances and tough Durham
neighborhood by joining the Navy. He served six years, got
2
married and settled into a civilian job in New Orleans — until
Hurricane Katrina destroyed their uninsured home. He and his
wife and their young daughter bounced through hotel and
guest rooms in three states before returning to Durham. He
entered Durham Technical Community College, transferred to
NCCU and graduated magna cum laude.
And Nelms also praised John Archer, who was just out of
college and in robust health at age 23 when his heart suddenly
stopped — he was dead. Paramedics were able to quickly
revive him, and a defibrillator in his chest now ensures that
it won’t happen again. He started law school but had to quit
when his marriage failed and he took custody of his newborn
son. Two years ago, he enrolled at NCCU’s School of Business,
and on Saturday — 11 years after the heart attack that nearly
ended his life — he graduated cum laude with a Master of
Business Administration degree.
Following NCCU tradition, Nelms hosted a reception for
graduates and their families on Friday night. Separate
receptions by campus colleges and departments took place
after the commencement ceremony.
NCCU Students Show How
Much They ‘CAARE’
Tiffany Gary, a sophomore on the women’s basketball team,
smiled wide and stood on her tiptoes to hang an ornament
near the top of the Christmas tree in the lobby of the CAARE
Inc. center in downtown Durham.
With her long arms and graceful agility, it was easy for her to
work high while fellow students decorated the lower part of
the tree, sharing laughs as they untangled a mass of string
lights.
It was a familiar and joyous sight around the holidays, but this
one had a special twist. Gary was among nearly 20 volunteers
from North Carolina Central University’s Athletics Department
who arrived at the nonprofit center Tuesday to decorate, pack
meals, prepare care packages and help make the day brighter
for those struggling in dark economic times.
Within an hour of the volunteers’ arrival, the lobby crowded
with people invited to receive a free turkey and trimmings,
along with some personal care items.
“It makes me feel better as a person knowing that I am giving
back to my community,” said Gary, who was joined by nursing
sophomore JaNise Rhodes, psychology freshman Kaylah
Blount and nursing junior Torya Smith.
CAARE is a grass roots operation that provides a variety of
health and social services to low-wealth residents in the
Class of 2011 Graduates
Tiffany Gary hangs an ornament at CAARE Inc.
3
Durham area. The organization began in 1995 with kitchen-table
conversation between Dr. Sharon Elliott-Bynum, an NCCU
alumna, and her sister, the late Patricia Amaechi. Yearning for
a way to give back to the community, the socially conscious
sisters started the nonprofit primarily to help with AIDS and
addiction management.
In the last 16 years, CAARE has grown to become a major
health and social service agency with an annual budget of
nearly $1 million dollars, including support from government
and private sources. Although Amaechi passed away, her
presence remains in the mural on the wall and in the heart of
her sister.
“Here, we emphasize that there is no delineation between
‘them’ and ‘us,’ so a lot of the clients that we help come back
to help others,” Elliott-Bynum said as she stood smiling
underneath the mural. “That’s how we’re going to make our
community a healthier community — it’s all of us doing our
part.”
A few years ago, Elliott-Bynum met NCCU Athletic Director
Ingrid Wicker-McCree and head women’s basketball coach
Joli Robinson. Together, the women formed Top Ladies of
Distinction, a service organization targeting young women.
That connection led to the department’s relationship with
CAARE. It’s a place where service learning comes alive for
students, Robinson said.
“Young people haven’t always experienced things, and you
can’t understand until you’ve experienced it,” Robinson said.
Volunteering helps students appreciate what they have and
break down barriers, she said.
“Some (clients) are here by choice, most are not,” Robinson
said. “Being here shows the students that you should always
treat people with respect, regardless.”
CAARE staffers used Veteran’s Day to focus on their project to
build a 15-bed shelter for homeless veterans. On Nov. 11, the
NCCU women’s basketball team joined with students from
Duke University for a day of service that included a sleepover
in an empty room at the center.
“We wanted them to feel what it was like to wake up with no
resources, to have nothing,” Elliott-Bynum said.
Gary remembers the night well, and she remembers the talk
the next morning from a homeless man who described his life
to the students.
“It was a good experience. It really opened our eyes,” she said.
“I’ve learned you don’t have to be a millionaire or have a lot
of money to show people that you care. It puts a smile on my
face just being here.”
And with that megawatt smile, Gary went right back to
trimming the tree.
NCCU Law Hosted EPA
Administrator and Business
Leaders
Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, chaired a roundtable discussion with
about 30 business and government leaders at the North
Carolina Central University School of Law. The White House
Business Council and Business Forward NC, a trade group
formed to encourage participation by business leaders in the
policymaking process, organized the gathering.
“I truly believe and will always believe that the environment is
a nonpartisan issue,” said Jackson as she opened the session
Students work to stock canned goods at CAARE Inc.
4
with remarks about the collaborative nature of President
Obama’s administration. She continued to state that the EPA’s
tightening of pollution standards easily contributes more
benefit than cost, saving lives and mitigating “hundreds of
billions of dollars” in healthcare expenses and productivity
losses. She added, “Americans actually like the idea that they’re
protected by the EPA.”
She predicted that clean energy would become a $4 trillion-dollar
industry and challenged those present to develop the
innovations that would create those jobs.
Three businessmen brought challenges of their own related
to EPA regulation and support for their environmentally
conscious operations.
John Gaither, president and CEO of Reichhold Inc., raised
a concern with the U.S. Health Department’s recent listing
of styrene as a carcinogen. Gaither stated that “75 years of
research shows it’s not a carcinogen” and he wondered aloud
about the risks of replacing it with some other chemical in the
manufacture of his company’s polyester resins about which
scientists have much less knowledge.
Andy Marchiano, president of Longistics, a logistics and
trucking company, asked how the EPA might support his
fuel-efficient operation by either incentivizing environmental
protection or penalizing competitors that forgo the expensive
fuel efficiency upgrades. Greg Merritt, vice president of
Cree, an innovator in LED lighting, pressed Jackson about
how the EPA intended to ensure the adoption of the new
lighting efficiency standards to be enacted Jan. 1. Merritt
suggested “incentivizing the market to adopt energy efficient
technologies through tax policy or credits.”
NCCU Law School Dean Raymond Pierce was enthusiastic
about the benefits of roundtable meetings such as this, the
second to be held at the Law School this year.
“I think it’s invaluable for the White House, through its Cabinet-level
representatives, to seek out the concerns but also the
ideas of our top business leaders in formulating policy,” said
Pierce. “These men and women are making the decisions that
will determine job growth in this state and those decisions can
be influenced, one way or the other, by public policy.”
Photography Exhibit
Highlights African-
American Resistance
A stunning collection of photographic portraits, “Let Your
Motto be Resistance: African-American Portraits,” will run at
the North Carolina Central University Art until Jan. 15, 2012.
The collection reveals the nation’s history through an African-
American lens, using the lives of well-known abolitionists,
artists, scientists, writers, statesmen, entertainers and sports
figures. The exhibit will run until Jan. 15, 2012.
Among the featured photographers who employ a variety of
strategies to create their powerful images are Mathew Brady,
James VanDerZee, Doris Ulmann, Edward Weston, Gordon
Parks, Irving Penn and Carl Van Vechten.
The exhibit’s title was taken from a celebrated abolitionist
and orator Henry Highland Garnet. In the speech titled “Call
to Rebellion,” Garnet challenges the American slaves to rise
up and emancipate themselves, arguing that armed unrest
would be the most effective way to end slavery. “Let your
motto be resistance,” he exclaimed, “Resistance! Resistance!
No oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without
resistance.”
“The need to resist, to challenge race-based assumptions,
laws and practices that sought to limit black life, has always
Malcolm X
5
been a central tenet of African-American culture,” said Kenneth
Rodgers, director of the NCCU Museum of Art. “This resistance
has many faces. While some African-Americans demanded
change at any cost, others chose nonviolent confrontations.”
For general information or assistance, call 919-560-6211.
Put the Love Back in Your
Holiday Giving
Often paired with this time of year are hopes to surprise our
loved ones with special gifts that mean a lot to them...but that
is not always so easy. Check out this gift idea that is sure to
please everyone.
(Pictured: Left to Right)Abdul Mohammed, Dean, College of
Science and Technology; Gail Hollowell, Assistant Professor,
Department of Biology; Emilie Townes (daughter of Dr. Mary
M. Townes) Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Andrew W.
Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at
Yale Divinity School; Lois Deloatch, Vice Chancellor, Office of
Institutional Advancement.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE >>
Martin Luther King Jr. with Coretta Scott King, Yolanda Denise
Featured Photo Dr. Townes visited the campus and toured the building named
for her mother, Dr. Mary M. Townes, former dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences and a longtime professor of biology. The
$36 million science building was named for Townes in 2005.
6